LA VIRGEN, Costa Rica — Over just a few decades in the mid-20th century, this small country chopped down a majority of its ancient forests. But after a huge conservation push and a wave of forest regrowth, trees now blanket more than half of Costa Rica.
Far to the south, the Amazon forest was once being quickly cleared to make way for farming, but Brazil has slowed the loss so much that ... read more

San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico—Hector Patiño leaned against his shovel, taking a break from weeding. The sun beat down on his straw hat. His three friendly dogs flopped down in the shade.
Behind Patiño, 45, cottonwood and willow trees formed a dense thicket, interspersed with honey mesquite seedlings and a thick understory of shrubs. Bees swarmed. A crissal thrasher s... read more

Almora: The office of Lieutenant Colonel Rohit Mishra, commanding officer of Nanda Devi Company of 130 Ecological Battalion (Territorial Army), Kumaon, is nicely made up of bamboo and woods. Located a few metres from the Sial river, it looks more like a beach cafe than an army office. The river bank is surrounded by a green carpet of trees and saplings of cauliflower, spinach, spices and medici... read more

A coalition of governments and organizations pledged to restore 20 million hectares (50 million acres) of degraded forests and ecosystems across Latin America by 2020 under an initiative that aims to curb boost rural incomes, fight climate change, and increase agricultural production. The effort is backed by $365 million from five impact investors.
December 7, 2014
Click here to read more. read more

The tsunami that struck Indonesia in 2004 obliterated vast areas of Aceh province. But villagers there are using an innovative microcredit scheme to restore mangrove forests and other coastal ecosystems that will serve as a natural barrier against future killer waves and storms.
December 4, 2014
Click here to read more. read more

Over the past few years a new conservation approach known as the "novel ecosystems" concept has been slowly gathering steam in science, media, and policy-making circles. Based on pragmatism, it presents itself as a way forward in a world where irreversible ecosystem change is inevitable. It holds that rather than vainly trying to restore disturbed ecosystems back to their original states, we sh... read more

This Field Manual for Practitioners engages communities to consider social, economic and ecological factors before undertaken mangrove restoration, and relies on monitoring to inform corrective actions over time.
Click here for more information. read more

Murcia et al. contend that the concept of a ‘novel ecosystem’ is poorly developed, has no evidence base, and has little management application and potential negative policy impacts. However, it is more accurate to observe that conceptual development is ongoing (as would be expected in a relatively new area of endeavor), empirical evidence is mounting, many managers find the ideas us... read more

The ‘novel ecosystem’ concept has captured the attention of scientists, managers, and science journalists, and more recently of policymakers, before it has been subjected to the scrutiny and empirical validation inherent to science. Lack of rigorous scrutiny can lead to undesirable outcomes in ecosystem management, environmental law, and policy.
Click here for more information. read more

This first volume of The State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources constitutes a major step in building the information and knowledge base required for action towards better conservation and sustainable management of forest genetic resources at the national, regional and international levels.
Click here for more information. read more